137 Bible verses about Fasting

"Moreover, when you fast, do not become gloomy, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly I say to you, that they receive their reward in full.But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

I have not chosen such a fast, says the Lord; but do you loose every burden of iniquity, do you untie the knots of hard bargains, set the bruised free, and cancel every unjust account?Break your bread to the hungry, and lead the unsheltered poor to your house; if you see one naked, clothe him, and you shall not disregard the relations of your own seed.

Now therefore, says the Lord your God, turn to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamentation:and tear your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for He is merciful and compassionate, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy, and relenting of evil.

And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek Him diligently by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth.

Now as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them."Then, fasting and praying, and laying their hands on them, they sent them away.

And the men of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.And the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from off his throne, and took off his robe, and put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes.And proclamation was made, and it was commanded in Nineveh by the king and by his great men, saying, Let not men, or cattle, or oxen, or sheep, taste any thing, nor feed, nor drink water.So men and cattle were clothed with sackcloth, and cried earnestly to God; and they turned everyone from their evil way, and from the iniquity that was in their hands, saying,Who knows if God will relent, and turn from His fierce anger, and so we shall not perish?And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways; and God relented of the evil which He had said He would do to them; and He did it not.

And I proclaimed there a fast, at the River Ahava, that we should humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us, and for our children, and for all our property.For I was ashamed to ask of the king a guard and horsemen to save us from the enemy in the way; for we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all that seek Him, for good; but His power and His wrath are upon all that forsake Him.So we fasted, and asked of our God concerning this; and He hearkened to us.

And Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set his face to seek the Lord earnestly, and he proclaimed a fast in all Judah.And Judah gathered themselves together to seek after the Lord; even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for several days, and continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they were completed, He was hungry.

And Moses was there before the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water; and He wrote upon the tablets these words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

And having chosen elders for them in every church, and having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

But I, when they troubled me, put on sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer shall return to my own bosom.I behaved agreeably towards them as if it had been our neighbor or brother; I humbled myself as one mourning and sad of countenance.

And because of the word, Ahab was pierced with sorrow before the Lord, and he both went weeping, and tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his body, and fasted; he put on sackcloth also in the day that he smote Naboth the Jezreelite, and went his way.And the word of the Lord came by the hand of his servant Elijah concerning Ahab, and the Lord said,Have you seen how Ahab has been pricked to the heart before Me? I will not bring on the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring on the evil.

Then the disciples of John approached Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"And Jesus said to them, "Can the groomsmen mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

In those days I, Daniel was mourning three full weeks.I ate no pleasant bread, and no flesh or wine entered into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself with oil, until three whole weeks were accomplished.

saying, Why have we fasted, and You did not see? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You did not know it? Nay, in the days of your fasts you find your pleasures, and all them that are under your power you wound.If you fast for quarrels and strife, and strike the lowly with your fists, why do you fast to Me as you do this day, so that your voice may be heard in crying?I have not chosen this fast, nor such a day for a man to afflict his soul; although you should bend down your neck as a ring, and spread under you sackcloth and ashes, neither thus shall you call a fast acceptable.

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel assembled with fasting, and in sackcloth, and with ashes on their head.And the children of Israel separated themselves from every stranger, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

Speak to the whole people of the land, and to the priests, saying, Though you fasted or lamented in the fifth or seventh months (yea, behold, these seventy years) have you at all fasted to Me?

And they were gathered together to Mizpah, and they drew water, and poured it out upon the earth before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said, We have sinned before the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.

Do not deprive one another, except by mutual agreement, and that for a season, so that you may devote yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

And I bowed down my soul with fasting, and that was made my reproach.

And David inquired of God concerning the child, and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground.

Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and fast for me, and eat not and drink not for three days, night and day. And I also and my maidens will fast, and then I will go in to the king contrary to the law, even if I must die.

Sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn service, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God, and cry earnestly to the Lord,

And the children of Israel and all the people went up, and came to Bethel. And they wept, and sat there before the Lord; and they fasted on that day until evening, and offered whole burnt offerings and perfect sacrifices before the Lord,

My knees are weakened through fasting, and my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.

And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights, to Mount Horeb.

So Cornelius said, "From the fourth day until this hour I was fasting, and at the ninth hour I was praying in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in shining clothing,and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered before God.

And the king departed to his house, and lay down fasting, and they brought him no food; and his sleep departed from him. But God shut the mouths of the lions, and they did not molest Daniel.

And the men of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

for though they fast, I will not hear their supplication; and though they offer whole burnt offerings and sacrifices, I will take no pleasure in them: for I will consume them with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence.

Thus says the Lord Almighty, The fourth fast, and the fifth fast, and the seventh fast, and the tenth fast, shall be to the house of Judah for joy and gladness, and for good feasts; and you shall rejoice; therefore love the truth, and peace.

But I, when they troubled me, put on sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer shall return to my own bosom.

Sound the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn service:gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the infants at the breast: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

But I treat my body roughly, and I bring it into subjection, lest, having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for several days, and continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.And I said, I pray, O Lord God of heaven, the mighty One, the great and terrible, keeping Your covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to those that keep His commandments.Let now Your ear be attentive, and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant, which I pray before You at this time, this day both day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and make confession for the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against You - both I and the house of my father have sinned.

So she did year by year, in going up to the house of the Lord; and she was dispirited, and wept, and did not eat.And Elkanah her husband said to her, Anna; and she said to him, Here am I, my lord. And he said to her, What ails you that you weep? And why do you not eat? And why does your heart smite you? Am I not better to you than ten children?

Now as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them."

and she was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

So we fasted, and asked of our God concerning this; and He hearkened to us.

And it was written in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place among the people.

And while I was yet speaking, and praying, and confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel, and bringing my pitiful case before the Lord my God concerning the holy mountain;yes, while I was yet speaking in prayer, behold the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, came flying, and he touched me about the hour of the evening sacrifice.And he instructed me, and spoke with me, and said, O Daniel, I have now come forth to impart to you understanding.At the beginning of your supplication the word came forth, and I have come to tell you; for you are a man much beloved: therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:

And they lamented, and wept, and fasted till evening, for Saul and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Judah, and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

And the children of Israel and all the people went up, and came to Bethel. And they wept, and sat there before the Lord; and they fasted on that day until evening, and offered whole burnt offerings and perfect sacrifices before the Lord,for the ark of the Lord God was there in those days,and Phineas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron stood before it in those days; and the children of Israel inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall we yet again go forth to fight with our brethren the sons of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.

Sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn service, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God, and cry earnestly to the Lord,Alas, Alas, Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as trouble upon trouble.

But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."

And Mordecai and Esther the queen appointed a fast for themselves privately, even at that time also having formed their plan against their own health.

Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up your voice as with a trumpet, and declare to My people their sins, and to the house of Jacob their iniquities.They seek Me day by day, and desire to know My ways, as a people that had done righteousness, and had not forsaken the judgment of their God; they now ask of Me righteous judgment, and desire to draw near to God,saying, Why have we fasted, and You did not see? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You did not know it? Nay, in the days of your fasts you find your pleasures, and all them that are under your power you wound.If you fast for quarrels and strife, and strike the lowly with your fists, why do you fast to Me as you do this day, so that your voice may be heard in crying?I have not chosen this fast, nor such a day for a man to afflict his soul; although you should bend down your neck as a ring, and spread under you sackcloth and ashes, neither thus shall you call a fast acceptable.I have not chosen such a fast, says the Lord; but do you loose every burden of iniquity, do you untie the knots of hard bargains, set the bruised free, and cancel every unjust account?Break your bread to the hungry, and lead the unsheltered poor to your house; if you see one naked, clothe him, and you shall not disregard the relations of your own seed.Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall speedily spring forth; and your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall surround you.Then shall you cry, and God shall hearken to you; while you are yet speaking He will say, Behold, I am here. If you remove from you the band, and the stretching forth of the hands, and murmuring speech;

Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit, to be tempted by the devil.And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.And approaching Him, the tempter said, "If You are the Son of God, speak so that these stones may become bread."But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.' "

then if My people, on whom My name is called, should repent, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, I also will hear from heaven, and I will be merciful to their sins, and I will heal their land.

And until the time was about to be day, Paul was urging them all to receive their share of food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day you continue waiting without eating, having taken nothing.Therefore I urge you to take food, for this is for your deliverance; for not a hair from your head shall fall."

And the king departed to his house, and lay down fasting, and they brought him no food; and his sleep departed from him. But God shut the mouths of the lions, and they did not molest Daniel.Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste to the den of lions.And when he drew near to the den, he cried out with a loud voice, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lion's mouth?

And Jesus said to them, "Can the groomsmen mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

For the zeal of Your house has eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached You have fallen upon me.And I bowed down my soul with fasting, and that was made my reproach.

And it came to pass in the eighth year of King Jehoiakim, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem, and the house of Judah, proclaimed a fast before the Lord.

Sound the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn service:

And the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from off his throne, and took off his robe, and put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes.And proclamation was made, and it was commanded in Nineveh by the king and by his great men, saying, Let not men, or cattle, or oxen, or sheep, taste any thing, nor feed, nor drink water.So men and cattle were clothed with sackcloth, and cried earnestly to God; and they turned everyone from their evil way, and from the iniquity that was in their hands, saying,Who knows if God will relent, and turn from His fierce anger, and so we shall not perish?

And Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went to the treasury of Johanan the son of Eliashib. And when he came there, he ate no bread, and drank no water, for he mourned over the unfaithfulness of those of the captivity.

And they took their bones, and buried them in the field that is in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel assembled with fasting, and in sackcloth, and with ashes on their head.And the children of Israel separated themselves from every stranger, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.And they stood in their place, and read in the Book of the Law of the Lord their God; and they confessed their sins to the Lord, and worshipped the Lord their God.

in labor and hardship, in sleepless nights often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness--

And he was three days not seeing, and neither ate nor drank.

when I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant, which the Lord made with you, and I was in the mountain forty days and forty nights, I ate no bread and drank no water.

And the children of Israel and all the people went up, and came to Bethel. And they wept, and sat there before the Lord; and they fasted on that day until evening, and offered whole burnt offerings and perfect sacrifices before the Lord,for the ark of the Lord God was there in those days,

And Saul committed a great trespass of ignorance in that day, and he placed a curse on the people, saying, Cursed is the man who shall eat bread before the evening; so I will avenge myself on my enemy. And none of the people tasted bread, though all the land was dining.

"Moreover, when you fast, do not become gloomy, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly I say to you, that they receive their reward in full.

I fast twice a week, I tithe on all things, as many as I acquire.'

I ate no pleasant bread, and no flesh or wine entered into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself with oil, until three whole weeks were accomplished.

But You, O Lord, my Lord, deal mercifully with me, for Your name's sake; for Your mercy is good.Deliver me, for I am poor and needy; and my heart is troubled within me.I am removed as a shadow in its going down; I am tossed up and down like locusts.My knees are weakened through fasting, and my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.

And I proclaimed there a fast, at the River Ahava, that we should humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us, and for our children, and for all our property.

So men and cattle were clothed with sackcloth, and cried earnestly to God; and they turned everyone from their evil way, and from the iniquity that was in their hands, saying,

And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and went up to the mountain, and was there in the mountain forty days and forty nights.

And they proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place among the people.

Then the disciples of John approached Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"And Jesus said to them, "Can the groomsmen mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.No one puts on a patch of a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for it takes away its completeness from the garment, and the tear is made worse.Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins burst, and the wine spills out, and the wineskins will be ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

And in every province where the letters were published, there was crying and lamentation and great mourning on the part of the Jews: they spread for themselves sackcloth and ashes.

And Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set his face to seek the Lord earnestly, and he proclaimed a fast in all Judah.

I have not chosen such a fast, says the Lord; but do you loose every burden of iniquity, do you untie the knots of hard bargains, set the bruised free, and cancel every unjust account?Break your bread to the hungry, and lead the unsheltered poor to your house; if you see one naked, clothe him, and you shall not disregard the relations of your own seed.Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall speedily spring forth; and your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall surround you.Then shall you cry, and God shall hearken to you; while you are yet speaking He will say, Behold, I am here. If you remove from you the band, and the stretching forth of the hands, and murmuring speech;and if you give bread to the hungry from your heart, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light spring up in darkness, and your darkness shall be as noon day;and your God shall be with you continually, and you shall be satisfied according as your soul desires; and your bones shall be made fat, and shall be as a well-watered garden, and as a fountain from which the water has not failed.And your old waste desert places shall be built up, and your foundations shall last through all generations; and you shall be called a repairer of breaches, and you shall cause your paths between to be in peace.

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for several days, and continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.And I said, I pray, O Lord God of heaven, the mighty One, the great and terrible, keeping Your covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to those that keep His commandments.Let now Your ear be attentive, and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant, which I pray before You at this time, this day both day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and make confession for the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against You - both I and the house of my father have sinned.We have altogether broken our covenant with You, and we have not kept the commandments, and the ordinances, and the judgments, which You commanded Your servant Moses.Remember, I pray, the word in which You charged Your servant Moses, saying, If you break your covenant with Me, I will disperse you among the nations.But if you turn again to Me, and keep My commandments, and do them; if you should be scattered to the uttermost parts of heaven, yet will I gather them from there, and I will bring them into the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.Now they are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your mighty hand.Turn not away, I pray, O Lord, but let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants, who desire to fear Your name, and prosper Your servant this day, and cause him to find mercy in the sight of this man (For I was the king's cupbearer).

Please test your servants ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat, and water to drink.

And they were gathered together to Mizpah, and they drew water, and poured it out upon the earth before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said, We have sinned before the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.And the Philistines heard that all the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah. And the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel, and the children of Israel heard, and they feared before the Philistines.And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to the Lord your God for us, and He shall save us out of the hand of the Philistines.

But the Lord was jealous of His land, and spared His people.

And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my humiliation; and when I had tore my clothes, then I trembled, and I bowed myself on my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord God,

So Cornelius said, "From the fourth day until this hour I was fasting, and at the ninth hour I was praying in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in shining clothing,

And the man of God said to the king, If you should give me half of your house, I would not go in with you, neither will I eat bread, neither will I drink water in this place; for thus the Lord charged me by His word, saying,Eat no bread, and drink no water, and return not by the way in which you came.

And he said to me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to afflict yourself before the Lord your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words.But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the princes, came to help me; and I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of the Persians.

For the end, A Psalm of instruction, for the sons of Korah. As the deer earnestly desires the fountains of water, so my soul earnestly longs for You, O God.My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?

And I gathered them to the river that comes to Ahava, and we encamped there three days. And I reviewed the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.And I sent men of understanding to Eliezar, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, Meshullam, Joiarib, and to Elnathan.And I forwarded them to the rulers with the money of the place, and I put words in their mouth to speak to their brothers the Nethinim with the money of the place, that they should bring us singers for the house of our God.And they came to us, as the good hand of our God was upon us, even a man of understanding of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, and at the commencement came his sons and his brothers, eighteen men.And Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah, of the sons of Merari, his brothers and his sons, twenty men.And of the Nethinim; whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, there were two hundred and twenty Nethinim; all were gathered by their names.And I proclaimed there a fast, at the River Ahava, that we should humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us, and for our children, and for all our property.For I was ashamed to ask of the king a guard and horsemen to save us from the enemy in the way; for we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all that seek Him, for good; but His power and His wrath are upon all that forsake Him.So we fasted, and asked of our God concerning this; and He hearkened to us.

Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit, to be tempted by the devil.And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.And approaching Him, the tempter said, "If You are the Son of God, speak so that these stones may become bread."But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.' "Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels orders concerning you,' and, 'In their hands they will lift you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "Jesus said to him, "Again, it is written, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' "Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.And he said to Him, "All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me."Then Jesus said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him alone you shall serve.' "Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"And He said to them, "Can you make the groomsmen fast while the bridegroom is with them?But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."

for the ark of the Lord God was there in those days,and Phineas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron stood before it in those days; and the children of Israel inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall we yet again go forth to fight with our brethren the sons of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans,I, Daniel understood by the books the number of years which was the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah, the seventy years for the accomplishment of the desolation of Jerusalem.And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek Him diligently by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth.

And Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child, which the wife of Uriah the Hittite bore to David, and it was ill.And David inquired of God concerning the child, and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground.And the elders of his house arose and went to him to raise him up from the ground, but he would not rise, nor did he eat bread with them.And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive we spoke to him, and he hearkened not to our voice; and should we tell him now that the child is dead?-- so would he do himself harm.And David knew that his servants were whispering, and David perceived that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.Then David rose up from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothes, and went into the house of God, and worshipped Him; and he went into his own house, and called for bread to eat, and they set bread before him and he ate.And his servants said to him, What is this thing that you have done concerning the child? While the child was yet living you fasted and wept, and kept watch; but when the child was dead you rose up and ate bread, and drank.And David said, While the child yet lived, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows if the Lord will pity me, and the child should live?But now it is dead, why should I fast thus? Shall I be able to bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, you priests: mourn, you that serve at the altar: go in, sleep in sackcloth, you that minister to God: for the grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.Sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn service, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God, and cry earnestly to the Lord,

And I said, I pray, O Lord God of heaven, the mighty One, the great and terrible, keeping Your covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to those that keep His commandments.Let now Your ear be attentive, and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant, which I pray before You at this time, this day both day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and make confession for the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against You - both I and the house of my father have sinned.We have altogether broken our covenant with You, and we have not kept the commandments, and the ordinances, and the judgments, which You commanded Your servant Moses.Remember, I pray, the word in which You charged Your servant Moses, saying, If you break your covenant with Me, I will disperse you among the nations.But if you turn again to Me, and keep My commandments, and do them; if you should be scattered to the uttermost parts of heaven, yet will I gather them from there, and I will bring them into the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.Now they are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your mighty hand.Turn not away, I pray, O Lord, but let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants, who desire to fear Your name, and prosper Your servant this day, and cause him to find mercy in the sight of this man (For I was the king's cupbearer).

And I bowed down my soul with fasting, and that was made my reproach.And I put on sackcloth for my covering; and I became a proverb to them.

and if you give bread to the hungry from your heart, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light spring up in darkness, and your darkness shall be as noon day;and your God shall be with you continually, and you shall be satisfied according as your soul desires; and your bones shall be made fat, and shall be as a well-watered garden, and as a fountain from which the water has not failed.

And Daniel purposed in his heart, that he would not defile himself with the king's table, nor with the wine of his drink: and he intreated the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.Now God had brought Daniel into favor and compassion with the chief of the eunuchs.And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your meat and your drink, lest he see your countenances gloomy, in comparison with the young men your equals; also shall you endanger my head to the king.And Daniel said to Melzar, whom the chief of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,Please test your servants ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat, and water to drink.And let our countenances be seen by you, and the countenances of the children that eat at the king's table; and deal with your servants according as you shall see.And he hearkened to them, and tested them ten days.And at the end of the ten days their countenances appeared fairer and stouter in flesh, than the children that ate at the king's table.So Melzar took away their supper and the wine of their drink, and gave them vegetables.

But you, whenever you pray, enter into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.

And I gathered them to the river that comes to Ahava, and we encamped there three days. And I reviewed the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.

And David said to Abiathar the priest the son of Ahimelech, Bring the ephod here to me.And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And He said to him, Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them, and you shall surely rescue the captives.

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Edom. O God, my God, I cry to You early; my soul has thirsted for You: how often has my flesh longed after You, in a barren and trackless and dry land!Thus have I appeared before You in the sanctuary, that I might see Your power and Your glory.For Your mercy is better than life: my lips shall praise You.Thus will I bless You during my life: I will lift up my hands in Your name.Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness; and my joyful lips shall praise Your name.

And he prayed to the Lord, and said, O Lord, were not these my words when I was yet in my land? Therefore I made haste to flee to Tarshish; because I knew that You are merciful and compassionate, long suffering, and abundant in kindness, and relent of bringing about evil.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who hopes in Him.Fear the Lord, all you His saints; for there is no lack to them that fear Him.The rich have become poor and hungry; but they that seek the Lord diligently shall not lack any good thing. Pause.

My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh have exalted in the living God.

Let them acknowledge to the Lord His mercies, and His wonderful works to the children of men.For He satisfies the empty soul, and fills the hungry soul with good things,

Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;and she was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

And the governor said to them, Go, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them that have nothing; for this day is holy to our Lord: and faint not, for the Lord is our strength.

But the Lord was jealous of His land, and spared His people.And the Lord answered and said to His people, Behold, I will send you grain, and wine, and oil, and you shall be satisfied with them: and I will no longer make you a reproach among the Gentiles.

And Mordecai wrote these things in a book, and sent them to the Jews, as many as were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes, both them that were near and them that were afar off,to establish these as joyful days, and to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar;for on these days the Jews obtained rest from their enemies. And as to the month, which was Adar, in which a change was made for them, from mourning to joy, and from sorrow to a good day, to spend the whole of it in good days of feasting and gladness, sending portions to their friends, and to the poor.

Now there were some in the church being in Antioch who were prophets and teachers: Both Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.Now as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them."Then, fasting and praying, and laying their hands on them, they sent them away.

If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, so as not to do your pleasure on the holy days, and shall call the Sabbaths delightful, holy to God; if you shall not lift up your foot to work, nor speak a word in anger out of your mouth,then shall you trust on the Lord; and He shall bring you up to the good places of the land, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this.

And it came about after this, that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Mineans, came up against Jehoshaphat to battle.And they came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, A great multitude is coming against you from Syria, from beyond the sea; and behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar, which is En Gedi.And Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set his face to seek the Lord earnestly, and he proclaimed a fast in all Judah.And Judah gathered themselves together to seek after the Lord; even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.And Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah in Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, in front of the new court.And he said, O Lord God of my fathers, are not You God in heaven above, and are not You Lord of all the kingdoms of the nations? And is there not in Your hand the might of dominion, and there is no one who can resist You?Are not You the Lord that destroyed the inhabitants of this land before the face of Your people Israel, and gave it to Your beloved seed of Abraham forever?And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctuary to Your name, saying,If there should come upon us evils, sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before You, (for Your name is upon this house) and we will cry to You because of the affliction, and You shall hear, and deliver.And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, with regard to whom You did not permit Israel to pass through their border, when they had come out of the land of Egypt, (for they turned away from them, and did not destroy them)-yet now, behold, they make attempts against us, to come forth to cast us out from our inheritance which You have given to us.O Lord our God, will You not judge them? For we have no strength to resist this great multitude that has come against us; and we know not what we shall do to them, but our eyes are toward You.And all Judah was standing before the Lord, and their children, and their wives.Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, of the sons of Benaiah, of the sons of Jeiel, of the sons of Matthaniah the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, in the assembly.And he said, Hear, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat; Thus says the Lord to you, even you: Fear not, neither be alarmed, before all this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you shall find them at the extremity of the river of the Wilderness of Jeruel.It is not for you to fight. Understand these things, and see the deliverance of the Lord with you, Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, neither be afraid to go forth tomorrow to meet them; and the Lord shall be with you.And Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground with all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and they fell before the Lord, to worship the Lord.And the Levites of the children of Kohath, and those of the sons of Korah, rose up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.And they rose early in the morning and went out to the Wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and cried, and said, Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem; put your trust in the Lord God, and your trust shall be honored; trust in His prophet, and you shall prosper.And he took counsel with the people, and set appointed men to sing psalms and praises, to give thanks, and sing the holy songs of praise in going forth before the army. And they said, Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.And when they began the praise and thanksgiving, the Lord caused the children of Ammon to fight against Moab, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir that came out against Judah; and they were defeated.Then the children of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, to destroy and consume them. And when they had made an end of destroying the inhabitants of Seir, they rose up against one another so that they were utterly destroyed.And Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, and looked, and saw the multitude, and behold, they were all fallen dead upon the earth; not one escaped.And Jehoshaphat and his people went out to plunder them, and they found much cattle, and furniture, and spoils, and precious things. And they plundered them, and they were three days gathering the spoil, for it was abundant.And it came to pass on the fourth day they were gathered to the Valley of Blessing; for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore they called the name of the place the Valley of Blessing, until this day.And all the men of Judah returned to Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat led them with great joy; for the Lord gave them joy over their enemies.And they entered into Jerusalem with lutes and harps and trumpets, going into the house of the lord.And the terror of the Lord was upon all the kingdoms of the land, when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace; and his God gave him rest round about.

And Daniel said to Melzar, whom the chief of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,Please test your servants ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat, and water to drink.

And because of the word, Ahab was pierced with sorrow before the Lord, and he both went weeping, and tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his body, and fasted; he put on sackcloth also in the day that he smote Naboth the Jezreelite, and went his way.

And they arose and went up to Bethel, and inquired of God. And the children of Israel said, Who shall go up for us first to fight with the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up first as leader.And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.And they went out, all the men of Israel, to fight with Benjamin, and engaged with them at Gibeah.And the sons of Benjamin went forth from Gibeah, and they destroyed in Israel on that day twenty-two thousand men down to the ground.And the men of Israel strengthened themselves, and again engaged in battle in the place where they had engaged on the first day.And the children of Israel went up, and wept before the Lord till evening, and inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall we again draw near to battle with our brethren the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Go up against them.And the children of Israel advanced against the children of Benjamin on the second day.And the children of Benjamin went forth to meet them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroyed of the children of Israel yet eighteen thousand more men down to the ground: all these drew the sword.And the children of Israel and all the people went up, and came to Bethel. And they wept, and sat there before the Lord; and they fasted on that day until evening, and offered whole burnt offerings and perfect sacrifices before the Lord,

And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.And approaching Him, the tempter said, "If You are the Son of God, speak so that these stones may become bread."But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.' "

Then shall you cry, and God shall hearken to you; while you are yet speaking He will say, Behold, I am here. If you remove from you the band, and the stretching forth of the hands, and murmuring speech;and if you give bread to the hungry from your heart, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light spring up in darkness, and your darkness shall be as noon day;

Sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn service, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God, and cry earnestly to the Lord,Alas, Alas, Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as trouble upon trouble.Your food has been destroyed before your eyes, joy and gladness from out of the house of your God.

And proclamation was made, and it was commanded in Nineveh by the king and by his great men, saying, Let not men, or cattle, or oxen, or sheep, taste any thing, nor feed, nor drink water.So men and cattle were clothed with sackcloth, and cried earnestly to God; and they turned everyone from their evil way, and from the iniquity that was in their hands, saying,Who knows if God will relent, and turn from His fierce anger, and so we shall not perish?And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways; and God relented of the evil which He had said He would do to them; and He did it not.

And they stood in their place, and read in the Book of the Law of the Lord their God; and they confessed their sins to the Lord, and worshipped the Lord their God.

And Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child, which the wife of Uriah the Hittite bore to David, and it was ill.And David inquired of God concerning the child, and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground.

And the king departed to his house, and lay down fasting, and they brought him no food; and his sleep departed from him. But God shut the mouths of the lions, and they did not molest Daniel.Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste to the den of lions.And when he drew near to the den, he cried out with a loud voice, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lion's mouth?And Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever!My God has sent His angel, and stopped the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me: for uprightness was found in me before Him; and moreover before you, O king, I have committed no trespass.Then the king was very glad for him, and he commanded to bring Daniel out of the den. So Daniel was brought out of the den, and there was found no hurt upon him, because he believed in his God.And the king commanded, and they brought the men that had accused Daniel, and they were cast into the den of lions, they, their children, and their wives. And they did not reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them, and utterly broke to pieces all their bones.

being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they were completed, He was hungry.

But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he saw again; and arising, he was baptized,and when he received food, he was strengthened. Now Saul was with the disciples in Damascus three days.

And Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went to the treasury of Johanan the son of Eliashib. And when he came there, he ate no bread, and drank no water, for he mourned over the unfaithfulness of those of the captivity.And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should assemble at Jerusalem, saying,Everyone who shall not arrive within three days, as is the counsel of the rulers and the elders, all his substance shall be forfeited, and he shall be separated from the congregation of the captivity.

Now therefore, says the Lord your God, turn to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamentation:

In the third year of Cyrus king of the Persians a thing was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, and great power and understanding in the vision was given to him.In those days I, Daniel was mourning three full weeks.I ate no pleasant bread, and no flesh or wine entered into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself with oil, until three whole weeks were accomplished.

And everyone who competes exercises self-control in all things. Now they compete in order that they may receive a perishable crown, but we compete for an imperishable crown.Therefore I run thus: not as without a goal, thus I box: not as one beating the air.But I treat my body roughly, and I bring it into subjection, lest, having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who hopes in Him.

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Edom. O God, my God, I cry to You early; my soul has thirsted for You: how often has my flesh longed after You, in a barren and trackless and dry land!

And I prayed to the Lord my God, and confessed, and said, O Lord, the great and wonderful God, keeping Your covenant and Your mercy to them that love You, and to them that keep Your commandments; we have sinned;we have committed iniquity, we have transgressed, and we have departed and turned aside from Your commandments and from Your judgments;we have not heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, and our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"